The cervical spine is that portion of the spine which is between the skull and the thorax. Surgery on the cervical spine is often performed with the patient in supine position, that is, lying on his back, face upward. Although the cervical spine lies closer to the back of the neck than the front, an injured or diseased area on the anterior side of the spine is usually better accessed by incision from the anterior side rather than from the posterior side. The windpipe, esophagus and other neck tissue are held aside laterally to expose the affected area.
In such surgery, the shoulders of the patient are usually positioned and secured right at the end of the operating table, with the head projecting beyond (off) the end of the table and supported by a head support. The surgeon is thereby enabled to more closely and more easily approach the site of the incision in the neck because the sides and end of the table do not interfere as much. Indeed, for a long operation the surgeon can sit directly beside the patient's neck.
Various types of head supports for supporting a patient's head off the end of an operating table for such surgery, are known in the art. The head support is generally not integral with the table but rather is removable and is cantilevered or attached to the table when needed. An operating table conventionally has one or more sockets at its head end to receive one or two support arms by which the head support is mounted to the table. The head support projects outwardly and upwardly from the table and may be adjustable in various directions to accommodate various socket spacings, distances from the table, head elevations, and so on. One example of such head support is shown in Kees et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,835, titled "Surgical Head Rest", issued Mar. 30, 1971.
Heretofore, when surgery on the cervical spine has been performed with the head of the patient supported beyond the end of the table, the neck has not been directly supported; traction, applied to the head with the patient's thorax secured by straps or tape to the operating table, holds the neck "suspended." However, although thus suspended, the neck tends to "sag" slightly between the end of the table and the head.